free stuff

Since this is still one of my earlier posts, let me also forewarn you that I’m unbelievably talented at going off onto tangents. (Once again, I apologize in advance.) I’ll try not to in this one, but just believe me when I say that it happens. My mind likes to have several trains going at once at all times, it seems.

Remember my self-imposed mission to spend as little as humanly possible (but also allowing for a couple luxuries, e.g. a gym membership?)?

It’s off to a running start!

My research mentor (more on that later!) is teaching the Humanism in Medicine course. I’d signed up for Behavioral Science, but she’s completely fine with me crashing (auditing) her course. At ~$800 a unit (hooray for out-of-state tuition :[ ), I’m basically “saving” $1600 right there. Right, right? Knowledge, seep into my brain!

She also apparently brings food to her classes for us, and since no one managed to finish off the bananas and apples, she told me I should bring em’ home if I wanted to. If you recall my lamenting over the fruit prices on the east coast ($8 for a bag of California oranges–I kid you not), this was akin to Christmas coming early. :O

This probably would’ve cost me >$5. :O

After class, my housemate alerted me of Rutgers’ Involvement Fair, which basically means…free stuff up for grabs everywhere! I met up with her and we talked to a billion different organizations and clubs. I felt like I was in undergrad all over again, except I don’t think I ever got the chance to see all the different clubs/organizations at Davis (this is probably for the better, because I would’ve wanted to join everything). I was usually either in class, working, or tabling for the clubs I was a part of. Apparently, nothing’s changed though; I still want to join everything. Opportunities everywhere to be had! :O

The things I’d be most interested in include…-Mounted Patrol
You can apply to patrol one of the campuses on horses and be paid for it. No joke. But…I probably don’t have time, and you also have to pass a test, a riding test, and then an interview. I haven’t ridden a horse in 3 years, so I’m not sure if I would still be considered an “experienced rider,” but oh, I wish. ;_;-Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
I wanna learn to take people down. :D
Kidding. But self-defense would be awesome.-Salsa
I miss dancing. :[ There’s also no Hawai’i club here. :O-Outdoor Club (it’s like Davis’ Outdoor Adventures!)
Kayaking, white water rafting, camping, hiking… *-* They lifted one of their members up in a kayak and carried her across the campus. (“Check out our extreme urban kayaking!”) If they offer it over spring break, I’d like to get my wilderness first aid certification.

I can apparently join most of the organizations even though I’m no longer an undergraduate, and I don’t attend Rutgers, but I need to figure out how much time my research project (and everything else) will take before I commit to anything else.

There were thyme coconut, pineapple mint, and celery plants to be had, but most of them required a whole lot of sun, and I’m unsure as to how many sunlit days we have left here. Plants also remind me of Apollo. (Apollo used to be my baby tomato plant, before he got savaged by raccoons back at my home-home, in California. :[ He barely got a chance to live. :[ )

So I’m all decked out now! I could totally pass for a Rutgers undergrad. ;] People keep mistaking me for a freshman anyway. Just for the record, I came clean and told the clubs/organizations that I talked to that I was a grad student because I felt a little guilty about taking things that were mostly intended for Rutgers students, but they were fine with giving me stuff anyway. (If my housemate is a Rutgers alum and currently works for the athletics department, does that make it okay?)

My housemate also cleaned out her room today, and told me I was free to take any of the clothes she’d be giving away. (Her two older sisters often leave clothes they don’t want anymore with her when they visit.) I feel like I went shopping all day today and spent not a single penny. This is awesome. :D!